Rufus is for Windows users who need to prepare installation or recovery media, whether they are reinstalling Windows, testing a Linux distribution, or setting up a boot drive for firmware work. It runs on Windows 10 and Windows 11, as well as Windows 8 or later, and is intended for making a USB drive bootable from an image rather than managing a library of installers.
In daily use, Rufus takes a bootable ISO and writes it to a selected USB drive in a few steps; it supports Windows, Linux, UEFI tools, and DOS boot drives used for BIOS or firmware flashing. The process formats the selected drive, so check the Device field and copy important files elsewhere before starting.
Features for preparing installation media
For Windows users who do not already have an ISO image, the Select control can switch to Download and fetch official Windows ISO images within the application. This keeps the image-selection task alongside the USB-writing workflow. Rufus also offers Windows To Go creation, which places a full Windows installation on a USB drive, and can save a USB drive as a VHD image.
When working with a Windows 11 image, Rufus provides Windows User Experience options that can remove the TPM and Secure Boot requirements or skip the online Microsoft account step during setup. The available choices depend on the Windows version, and the program’s FAQ documents changes to those options. These settings affect the installation experience; they do not change the fact that writing the image formats the target USB drive.
What to expect when running Rufus
Rufus is a single signed executable of about 2 MB and does not require installation. The executable is signed by Akeo Consulting, and the program is written by Pete Batard. A portable build that stores settings in an INI file is also available alongside the standard x64 file. The license is open source under GNU GPL v3 or later.
The workflow is deliberately focused on one image per USB drive. Rufus erases the selected drive while creating the bootable media and holds one image at a time, so it is not designed for keeping several ISO images on a single stick. Plan to use a separate drive for each image you want available, and verify the selected device before choosing Start.
Choosing it for a particular task
For a Windows installation, the built-in ISO download option and setup choices can reduce the number of separate preparation steps. For Linux testing, the same basic ISO-to-USB process applies: choose the bootable image, select the intended USB drive, and write it. DOS boot media and UEFI tools are additional uses when the task involves firmware or system maintenance.
Rufus runs only on Windows, so it is not a utility for preparing drives from Mac or Linux. Within its supported environment, its practical role is clear: create a bootable USB from one image at a time, with Windows-specific setup options available when the image supports them. Because the drive is formatted during creation, preserving any existing files beforehand is an essential part of using it safely.